Chief: New meth law would eliminate dangers posed by labs

Jan. 18, 2013

Paul Williams

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Springfield is considering a new law to make it harder for local meth cooks to get a key ingredient. But how will a prescription-only requirement for pseudoephedrine help when — as reported this week — meth is being brought into the city from Mexico?

For months, Police Chief Paul Williams has attempted to draw a distinction: his support for a citywide prescription requirement for pseudoephedrine isn’t aimed at stopping meth use but instead eliminating the myriad dangers posed by meth labs.

“(Mexican meth) is already here and we will continue to fight it,” Williams said. But with a prescription requirement, the scourge of explosions, fires and chemically-laced byproducts could be eliminated, he said.

The nuance, Williams said, is important in light of last month’s federal indictments against nine people allegedly involved in a conspiracy to import kilograms of highly potent drugs into the Springfield area.

The group Live Free Springfield, which opposes the prescription-only plan, seized on the news.

“It shows that the issue is not necessarily meth labs,” said Dave Myers, chairman of Live Free Springfield.

Myers said a prescription requirement might reduce the number of labs in Springfield but it will not stop the demand – any supply gap would quickly be filled by Mexican drug groups.

“Something else needs to be done,” Myers said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration reported the total weight of methamphetamine seized at the U.S. border doubled between 2009 and 2011.

Mexico has experienced a dramatic increase in clandestine methamphetamine lab and precursor chemical seizures, nearly 1,000 percent between 2010 and 2011, according to the most recent DEA data available.

But, Williams notes that doesn’t make local meth labs any less dangerous for the Springfield community.

Williams pointed to another recent event – a group of 12-year-olds playing in a Springfield neighborhood discovered and handled a chemical-laced meth lab component. The kids were unharmed but Williams noted it could have turned out much worse.

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In June 2012, a West Springfield man was killed in a house fire caused by a meth lab explosion.

Sgt. Bryan DiSylvester, head of the city’s narcotics unit, says countless children have been exposed to volatile fumes and chemicals from meth labs.

“That’s the kind of stuff we are talking about,” Williams said.

Myers believes labs could be curtailed another way: a focus on treating addiction, perhaps, might keep labs off the street by reducing the number of people that would cook it.

“Let’s exhaust all options before we start taking away from citizens,” Myers said.

What’s next with proposed banCouncilman Jeff Seifried introduced the pseudoephedrine ordinance, which has been assigned to the city’s Community Involvement Committee. That committee will eventually decide whether it will recommend an ordinance for council to vote on. A third City Council Committee meeting to discuss a prescription requirement has been scheduled for noon Thursday. Expected to attend are officials from Branson and Joplin, where prescription requirements have already been put in place. During the first two meetings, committee members heard from local law enforcement, medical professionals and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry.